1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a hand tool, and in particular, to a novel hammer or tool useful, inter alia, for driving tacks, or nails (or for removing tacks, or nails). It relates moreover to a multi-purpose tool, but particularly to a hammer which can be used to hammer or drive tacks, or nails in normally inaccessible locations or places.
2. Background and Prior Art
Hand tools are devices used in manual work to help the hand fashion, measure and mark, or manipulate various objects. Chisels, screw drivers and hammers are illustrative of hand tools used by craftsmen to manipulate objects. Whereas hand tools were originated, and used by early man long before the iron age, their use and variety were increased with the introduction of steel, and much later by the introduction of machine-made hand tools.
Hammers appear among the oldest of hand tools used by carpenters, masons, and blacksmiths. Though of various sizes, and shapes, hammers can be characterized as including a head with a flat side, and handle by which it is gripped by the hand of the craftsman. It is now used predominantly to drive tacks, or nails, as to append or fasten one material, or object to another. Whereas hammers of such type have been used for countless years, there are serious limitations which severely limit, or restrict their use. The traditional hammer thus requires considerable space in that it must be raised by the hand of the craftsman to a modest height above an object to allow a tack, or nail, to be driven by blows directed and delivered by the flat face of the hammer against the head of the tack, or nail. Such space is obviously not always available and thus the use of a hammer for its intended purpose is often limited, or restricted.
The limitations of the conventional hammer can be illustrated, for example, by the typical door along the bottom edge of which one may desire to replace, or secure, a weather stripping. Thus, the typical door is of substantially rectangular shape and comprised of a rectangular frame. Such door is mounted in a door jamb by suspension of a side of the frame from a plurality of spaced-apart hinges comprised of hinge halves attached to the door frame and door jamb, pivotally attached one hinge half to another via hinge pins about which the door is pivotally attached. Objective: to attach a weather strip along the bottom edge of the door. Obviously, however, this cannot be done with the conventional hammer for there is barely room to place the weather stripping in place, and hold the nails, or tacks, in oriented position for driving in place. There is a complete lack of space for driving the nails, or tacks, by directed blows from a hammer. The weather strip can be placed on the bottom edge of the door only by the complete removal of the door from the frame which, after attachment of the weather strip, must be replaced upon the frame.
There is, as illustrated by this example, a need for a hand tool useful for driving tacks, or nails (or for removing tacks, or nails) from normally inaccessible locations, or places. In particular, there is a need for a tool, or hammer for use in the installation of weather stripping along the bottom edges of doors without any requirement of removing, and rehanging such doors as is normally necessary in the installation of weather stripping.